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SPOILER REVIEW: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

WARNING! This is my spoiler-filled review of Infinity War, if you haven’t seen the film or just generally don’t want any spoilers my spoiler-free review is here.

Now I don’t think this will be in any particular order and I definitely won’t manage to talk about everything, these are the things that stuck with me the most that I wanted to talk about.

I loved this film. There may be stuff to nit-pick, but I can see past any flaws it might have because I think it’s such an achievement. Characters are introduced to one another organically and there’s no part that feels slow or boring compared to other parts. There are quieter moments, especially the ones with Thanos and Gamora but they are still just as compelling as the action sequences.

Infinity War does a great job at balancing humour and drama and there’s so many great character moments for a film chockfull of characters. I love how smoothly everyone comes into play and the various team-ups make for some great comedic moments. I love Bucky picking up Rocket as they both shoot a bunch of aliens. I love Steve introducing himself to Groot in such an honest way. Thor’s arrival in Wakanda with Rocket on his shoulder and Groot by his side is one of my favourite things in the whole film. Closely followed by the moment when one of Thanos’ children says to Wanda she’ll die alone and Natasha is like “She’s not alone” and then Natasha and Okoye fight together against the baddie lady (can’t remember her name) and finally Wanda delivers the killing blow. Loved seeing those three badass ladies fight together.

The sequence on Titan with Tony, Strange and Peter and how they meet the rest of the Guardians is brilliant. I love how Thor’s the connection between all of them and knowing him is the reason they actually start to talk to one another. The fight with all of them against Thanos is stunning and is probably my favourite action set piece in the film.

Now let’s talk about our fallen heroes – and there’s a lot of them. I feel I, like many others, were very naïve about the collateral damage this film would bring. I was like “Oh a couple of characters will probably die but no one major” and how wrong I was. I always thought Loki would die, he failed Thanos before and he had sort of become someone who would do anything for his brother and to a lesser extent his people, so his death wasn’t a surprise, but it was still brutal seeing Thanos break his neck and then Thor cry over his body.

Heimdall was a sad death too but I liked how he sent Hulk to Earth because if he hadn’t have done that then Earth would’ve had no warning whatsoever. Heimdall is the real hero of this film. Side note: before seeing the film, I theorised that Loki would’ve been the one to use magic to send Banner to Earth, but I like that it was Heimdall.

Gamora’s death was a sad one because she, like me and probably a load of other people, couldn’t believe that Thanos really loved her. When she was begging for Quill to kill her and he eventually did pull the trigger but Thanos manipulated reality, that got to me. He did the hardest thing ever, but it still came to nothing.

Speaking of characters who made difficult decisions that came to nothing – Wanda having to kill the one she loved to save the world and then Thanos just reversing time to bring Vision back and rip the Mind Stone out of his head! That was tough.

Then Thanos snaps his fingers and people start turning into dust! I was stunned when that happened. The fact that Bucky was the first to go, saying Steve’s name and then disintegrating, was a shock because he’s my mum’s favourite character and I immediately thought about her and what her reaction would be when she saw it. Side note: if you haven’t seen it, I recommend reading my Twitter thread about my mum’s experience watching Infinity War and the friend she made.

Then there’s the battle fields of Wakanda and so many people disappear and M’Baku is left standing there in shock. The fact Black Panther disappeared before Okoye’s eyes was another big shock, then Sam and Groot and Wanda. And then it goes back to Titan and the Guardians disappear, then Strange and finally Peter – jeez Spider-Man got to me here – as he fell in Tony’s arms desperately saying he didn’t want to go and finally sorry. That one got me right in the feels.

And out of all the characters you’ve met over the years, the only ones you definitely know are alive are Tony, Nebula, Rocket, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Rhodey, Thor, Okoye and M’Baku. I couldn’t put into words how I was feeling when the credits started to roll. I was just stunned.

Then there’s the post credit scene with Nick Fury and Maria Hill which I loved for a lot of reasons. One, just before they crash into a car Nick says to Maria “Tell Clint we’ll meet him-” meaning that my fave Hawkeye was keeping an eye on the crazy stuff that was happening and was ready to fight (can’t wait to see him in the sequel!). Two, that not only was half the universe wiped out, but because those people are no longer around there’s going to be collateral damage eg car and plane crashes and even probably instances in hospitals when doctors disappear mid-operation. And finally, three; Nick sent a message to Captain Marvel! Carol is going to come and save the day! That was a great little moment and I’m so pumped for her movie.

Thinking about what’s going to happen in Part 2, I don’t want to go searching out for theories too much because I want to be as surprised with this film as I am for the next one. I think it’s pretty cool that five out of the six original Avengers who were on screen in this film survived, it’s like they took it back to the beginning. I think/hope the characters who died before Thanos snapped his fingers stay dead because those deaths really mean something. I’m guessing that in the next film everyone or at least most of those who turned to dust will be brought back somehow.

I know some people are saying that the end of the film has no real impact as you’re pretty sure that the characters who disintegrate must come back to life, but I don’t think that’s the case. Even if/when half the universe is brought back, it doesn’t take away from the emotional impact you felt when you see these characters die before your eyes. No matter if they all come back and save the day, nothing will take away from that stunned silence that is present when the credits roll.

I will say that I believe our heroes had to lose in order to win, and Tony will be the key to saving the day. I say this because of Strange. When he, Tony and Peter are on the ship heading to Titan, he tells Tony that even if his or Peter’s life is in danger, he would not give up the Time Stone. Later on, he sees over 14 million possible realities and only one of them they win. Then Tony gets stabbed (a moment I gasped at) and Thanos is about to kill him, Strange gives up the Time Stone for his life, despite what he said before. And even as he was fading away, he said to Tony that it was the only way. I believe they had to lose, they had to let Thanos get all of the Infinity Stones and wipe out half of the universe, in order for them to beat him in the end. And the way the beat him will be because of something Tony says/does or he will sacrifice himself.

I have no idea how it will all work out in the end, but I that’s just my vague idea of how it will all play out. Also, if we don’t get a scene of Nebula and Tony having to work together to pilot a ship back to Earth I will be seriously disappoint. The two of them are so different that their interactions would be fascinating.

I’ve seen Infinity War three times in the cinema now and I think it’s a film that just gets better each time you see it as you notice more things and are not so numbed as you are the first time you watch it. I don’t think I can watch in another time in the cinema, (can’t deal with the emotional rollercoaster) instead I will probably leave my next rewatch till it’s out on DVD/Blu-Ray and I can watch it just before Part 2 is released next year.

Can’t believe we’ve got a year to wait! I will definitely be doing my best to avoid any spoilers and setphotos in that time frame as I want to go into Part 2 knowing as little as possible.

If you’ve got to the end of this over 1,500-word post of spoilery thoughts, I congratulate you! I’d love to know what you thought of Infinity War, both the good and the bad, and what was your favourite moment or character. I’ve got to say, I’ve always liked Thor, but I’ve never loved him like I did in this film. he’s conversations with Gamora and Rocket was great, and you really got to see how super powerful and God-like he is.

OK, I’m going to stop now because this post could go on forever. Until next time!

Yes! Thor worked so well with the Guardians and I loved his heart to heart with Rocket.
Exactly! It’s such a huge thing but every character got their moment to shine, it might’ve been smaller than other characters but it was still there.
Can’t believe we gotta wait a year! 😫